New online archive showcases New Zealand’s unique design style

NZ’s distinctive COVID-19 Campaign is an example of one of the projects in the archive (screenshot of katoitoi.nz)

A new community-led digital project that aims to define Aotearoa’s unique visual design style and practice has launched its first annual collection.

Kātoitoi – Aotearoa Design Archive aims to showcase the skill of New Zealand graphic designers as well as start a wider conversation about what sets the work of Kiwi designers apart from the rest of the world, say the archive’s co-founders Louise Kellerman and Nicole Arnett Phillips.

Ms Kellerman, who has run a professional development community for graphic designers since 2009, said the archive idea was formed through conversations with community members during the COVID-19 lockdown 12 months ago.

Katoitoi’s founders Nicole Arnett Phillips (left) and Louise Kellerman

The idea became a reality when funding for the pilot project was granted by Creative New Zealand in November.

“It was a very quick timeframe, but we knew we wanted to capture 2020 as the start of the archive,” said Ms Kellerman. 

“2020 was quite a remarkable year, to be in practice and in life,” said Ms Arnett Phillips, “but beyond that, our ambition for the archive is that year-on-year it will become a resource to contextualise and better understand design practice in New Zealand. 

“[We’re asking,] what is the Aotearoa design style, how does design shape New Zealand and our audience shape our practice?”

In February, Kātoitoi asked designers to submit their work for consideration. Over 400 submissions were received, representing 216 unique projects across a range of disciplines – such as packaging, publication and digital design.

To assess the work, the founders worked with a panel of design specialists, who they identified as the “kaumatua of the design community” who represented the diversity of New Zealand’s design community.

The panel selected 100 of the submitted projects to be included in the 2020 collection, which was launched online last month.

Ms Arnett Phillips described the archive collection as “a diverse representation of the work that the design community produced during 2020.” 

The founders say this archive project is unlike any other in the world, as it groups the works it features not only by output category – such as print, packaging, or digital design – but also by the project’s kaupapa or impact.

Ms Arnett Phillips said clear themes of environmental activism and celebrating diversity in our communities came through clearly in the work that was submitted.

“The key learning from this is that [New Zealander’s are] a pretty kind and caring bunch and we want the world to be better than it is currently.”

Having now launched the archive, Kātoitoi has commissioned a series of essays from design leaders to further discuss and analyse the archive.

The 2020 archive collection can be viewed at http://katoitoi.nz

Katoitoi posters calling for submissions from designers (image supplied)